Aerodynamic toy



p 1969 s. FRIEDMAN 3,465,471

AERODYNAMIC TOY Filed May 29, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 50L FE/EDM/W Sept. 9, 1969 Filed May 29. 1967 s. FRIEDMAN 3,465,471

AERODYNAMIC TOY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

$04 FIe/EDM/IIV ATTORNEYS Sept. 9, 1969 s. FRIEDMAN 3,

AERODYNAMIC TOY Filed May 29, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 80L FQ/EDM/M Sept. 9, 1969 s. FRIEDMAN 3,465,471

AERODYNAMIC TOY Filed may 29, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7

INVENTOR 50A FR/EDM/l/V ORNEYS United States Patent 3,465,471 AERODYNAMIC TOY Sol Friedman, Monsey, N.Y., assignor to Topper Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 29, 1967, Ser. No. 642,066 Int. Cl. A63h 29/16 U.S. Cl. 46-44 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a toy, and more particularly to a toy involving the movement of air for the purpose of keeping an unfettered object afloat in the atmosphere.

It is an object of the invention to provide a light-weight, but heavier-than-air, object in combination with means for directing an air stream at the object to keep it afloat.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a combination wherein the velocity of the air stream, and its direction, can be varied to alter the position of the floating object and in general control its movement.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an arrangement of the type referred to wherein the direction and velocity of the air stream can be controlled by readily manipulatable handles located at a conveniently arranged control panel.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide such an arrangement wherein the object may be lifted from a support surface, moved through the air, and brought to rest at a point remote from the lift-off point, all by means of a controlled air stream directed at the object.

To achieve these objectives, the invention employs an electric fan mounted on a universal joint, and a control handle for orienting the fan as desired. A second handle controls the speed of the fan motor, and hence the velocity of the air stream, via a rheostat. The object is preferably an air-filled balloon of generally spherical shape, the balloon having legs on one side to stabilize it when it is at rest.

The operation of the invention and further details of construction will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable fan and an object it may control, in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the adjustable fan body, with the bottom cover of the body removed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the fan portion;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the mechanical linkages and electric circuit within the body;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 6-9 are vertical cross-sectional views taken along the correspondingly numbered lines of FIG. 5.

Operation of the invention will be most readily understood by reference to FIG. 1. The adjustable air-directing means includes a hollow body, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, having a control panel portion 11 at one extremity, a fan support-joint enclosure 3,465,471 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 portion 12 at the other extremity, and a bridging portion 13 between them. An electric fan, indicated generally at 19, includes a motor 14 mounted on the upper end of a stem 15 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the lower end of which is mounted on a universal pivot connection or joint within the enclosure 12. The output shaft 16 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the motor 14 extends upwardly and carries an impeller 17. Surrounding the impeller is an annular housing 18 open at top and bottom.

A control handle 21 projects upwardly from the control panel 11, the lower end of the handle 21 being mounted on a universal pivot connection. The control handle 21 may be swung in any direction, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, and the fan 19 partakes of these movements by virtue of a linkage means extending through the bridging portion 13 between the handle and fan support joints.

In the present example, power for energizing the motor 14 is supplied by batteries 22 (see FIGS. 2, 4, and 5) within the control panel 11. The connection between the motor and batteries is via a rheostat operable by moving a second handle 23 in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. Consequently the speed of the fan may be varied.

A balloon 24, shown in various locations in FIG. 1, is generally spherical and is provided with support means, such as legs 25, on one side. The invention contemplates the use of a common variety inflated balloon. However, other types of objects having a large volume to weight ratio may be employed. The legs 25 serve a number of purposes. When the balloon 24- is at rest on a surface 26, as indicated at A in FIG. 1, the legs 25 support it in stable fashion so that the balloon does not simply roll away when the air stream 27a approaches it. In addition, the legs 25 add an off-center weight to the balloon which maintains the balloon in the same orientation with respect to the earth, i.e., with the legs pointing downwardly, as the balloon moves about under control of the air stream. This is desirable in cases where printed matter is carried by the balloon surface, or if an item, such as a gondola or simulated space capsule (not shown), is hung from the balloon. For the purposes of this invention, the weight of the balloon must be positive. However, if extraneous items, such as mentioned above, are supported by the balloon, the balloon might be filled with helium to decrease its total eflective weight, which would of course still be positive. In addition, it may be mentioned that the legs 25 may be indepndent elements secured to the balloon, or the balloon could be formed to present the legs as integral elements when inflated.

When the balloon is at rest on support surface 26 (position A), which may be part of the same surface supporting the body 10, the handle 21 and hence fan 19' are tilted, as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 1, to direct a stream of air 27a at the upper portion of the balloon 24. Due to the well-known Bernoulli effect, the pressure above the ballon is decreased due to the air flow over the top of the balloon, and if the air velocity is high enough, the balloon rises. As the balloon rises, the handle 21 is manipulated to move the air stream toward the vertical, and as a result the balloon rises to, say, position B in FIG. 1. The balloon follows the movement of the air stream because the combination of two upward forces overcome the force of gravity on the balloon. These two upward forces are the vertical component of the Bernoulli force produced by the air flowing over the top of the balloon, and the vertical component of the force of the air striking the balloon directly. In addition, it may be mentioned that the horizontal component of the force of the air striking the balloon directly, and tending to blow the balloon away from the fan, is counterbalanced by the horizontal component of the Bernoulli force, tending to move the balloon toward the fan. Thus, by proper adjustment of the air stream velocity, by means of handle 23, the forces can be balanced and the floating condition of the balloon can be maintained.

If the handle 21 manipulated slowly, the direction of the air stream will be varied, and the balloon will remain positioned in the air stream. Thus, the balloon can be brought directly over the fan (position C) when the air stream is vertical, as indicated at 27c. Throughout the movement of the air stream and balloon, the distance of the balloon 24 from the fan 19 is controlled by the handle 23 which adjusts air stream velocity. Eventually, by continued manipulation of the handles 21 and 23, the balloon can be brought to rest on another surface 28 (position D) which need not necessarily be at the same level as the surface 26. Thereafter, the balloon can be lifted from surface 28 and moved throughout the effective range of the fan by means of the handles 21 and 23.

The structure of the air-directing means will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2-9. The stem 15, which carries the motor 14, fits frictionally within a hollow extension 31 (FIGS. and 8) depending from the motor. A similar stem 32 (FIGS. 4, 5, and 7) is rigidly connected at its upper end to the lower end of the control handle 21. The stems 15 and 32 are located at the centers of relatively large holes 33 and 34, respectively, in the upper faces of the portions 12 and 11, respectively. These holes permit free maneuverability of the handle 21 and fan 19.

A link 35 extends through the bridging portion 13 between the stems 15 and 32. At one end, the link is pivoted at 36 to a point above the lower end of stem 15, and at its other end, the link is pivoted at 37 to a point above the lower end of stem 32. The pivot connections are such that they permit each stem to swing about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the link 35. The link is supported in bearings at two points along its length. Each bearing comprises a block 40 (FIG. 2, 5, and 9) depending from the top wall of body portion 13, the block having a notch in its lower face. A plate 41, fastened against the lower face of block 40 by screws, supports the link 35. The notches in the blocks 40 are large enough to permit the link 35 to rotate free about its longitudinal axis. However, collars 43 fixed to the link 35 abut the outer faces of the blocks 40 and prevent longitudinal movement of the link. The lower ends of the stems 15 and 32 are joined by a rod 42, the ends of the rod being bent back upon themselves and passing through holes in the lower ends of the stems.

In view of the above discussion, the manner in which movements of the handle 21 are transmitted to the fan 19 will be obvious. For example, if the handle 21 is tilted about pivot 37 toward the right in FIG. 5, the lower end of stem 32 pulls rod 42, and hence the lower end of stem 15, toward the left. As a result, the fan 19 is tilted toward the right to the same extent as the handle 21. Also, if the handle 21 is tilted in such a way as to rotate the link 35 about its longitudinal axis, this motion is transmitted via link 35 and rod 42 to stem 15 and hence to fan 19.

The fan housing 18 is supported on a ring 44 (FIG. 5) which is in turn supported by arms 45 projecting radially from the housing of motor 14. The housing 18 includes a plurality of vanes 46 extending radially from a central hub 47, each vane being in a vertical plane, i.e., a plane perpendicular to the plane in which the impeller 17 rotates. These vanes serve to minimize the rotation of the air stream created by the rotating impeller 17, and together with the annular wall of the housing 18 aligns and directs the air stream emitted by the fan.

The fan motor 14 is, in the present example, energized by four flashlight batteries 22 arranged end-to-end within the control panel portion 11. At its ends, the line of batteries engages contacts 50 and 51 secured to the body 10. A wire 52 connects contact 50 to a contact 53 within the body portion 13, the contact 53 being in turn connected to the motor 14. A wire 54 connects the contact 51 to the lower end of a movable contact 55, the upper end of the contact 55 slidably engaging a resistor 56. The resistor 56 is mounted at its ends on the body 10, and one end of the resistor is connected via a wire 57 to a contact 58 within housing portion 12, the contact 58 being connected in turn to the motor 14.

The movable contact 55 is fixed to the vertical leg of an angle member 58 (FIGS. 2, 4, and 6), the horizontal leg of which is carried by the handle 23. The lower end of the handle 23 is pivoted at 59 to a boss projecting from the body portion 11. It will be apparent that as the handle 23 is swung about the pivot 59, the contact 55 slides along the resistor 56 and places more or less resistance into the circuit between the batteries 22 and the motor 14. Thus, the power reaching the motor may be varied by moving the handle 23 in one direction or the other, and hence the speed of rotation of the impeller varies. In this way, the velocity of the air emanating from the fan is adjusted.

Although the invention can be completely understood from the description above, it may be mentioned that a specific embodiment which has been found to operate satisfactorily involves a fan impeller 5% inches long and having a three inch pitch. Such a fan is capable of controlling an eight inch diameter balloon having a weight under 2 /2 grams. The balloon can be lifted off a support surface if the fan is run at about 3,000 revolutions per minute (r.p.m.), and the flight of the balloon controlled at a distance of as much as five feet from the fan when the fan is run at 3,5006,000 r.p.m.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An aerodynamic toy comprising a light weight generally spherical body, means for directing a stream of air at said body to cause the latter to float while supported only by said air stream, and means for varying both the direction and velocity of said air stream to control the position of said body, said direction-varying means including a manually manipulable handle movable to a variety of positions, and means connecting said handle to said air-directing means for transmitting manual movements of said handle to said air-directing means, whereby the direction of the stream of air is varied in a manner corresponding to movements of said handle, and said velocity-varying means including a second manually manipulable handle movable independently of said first handle, and means operatively interposed between said air-directing means and said second handle and responsive to movements of said second handle for varying the velocity of said air stream.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said body is a fluid-filled balloon.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1 including means for supporting said body on a support surface preparatory to its being lifted by said air stream, said support means serving to prevent said body from rolling along the support surface under the influence of said air stream.

4. A combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said support means are legs projecting from one side of said body.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said air directing means is an electric fan mounted on a universal pivot connection.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5 wherein said first-mentioned handle is mounted on a universal pivot connection, and said connecting means includes linkage means between said handle pivot and said fan pivot for transmitting movements of said handle to said fan.

7. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said air directing means is a fan including an impeller, an annular housing surrounding said impeller, and vanes extending diametrically across said housing, each vane being in a plane perpendicular to the plane of rotation of said impeller, said vanes serving to minimize the rotation of said air stream leaving said impeller.

8. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said air-directing means is an electric fan having a motor, a power source for supplying energy to said motor, and said interposed means includes a rheostat between said power source and motor said second manually manipulable handle serving to adjust the setting .of said rheostat, to vary the power supplied to said motor and hence the speed of said fan.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1936 Jacobs. 5/1938 Klug 464 6/1940 Koch 230273 XR 11/1959 Simon 4644 XR 2/1960 Lanctot 35-46 XR 4/ 1963 Waggle 4644 9/ 1965 Cline 4674 XR US. Cl. X.R. 

